Parrott swimmers win championship

Parrott's girls' team won first place at the conference championship meet Tuesday, while the boys took third.

Jessika Morgan / Sports Editor

Three Arendell Parrott Academy students became the school’s first swimmers 20 years ago.

Two decades later, the Parrott swim team made its mark as the Patriots were crowned champions at the Eastern Plains Independence Conference meet at the Woodmen Community Center Tuesday. The girls won first place with a score of 321, while the boys came in third with 237 points.

“They were absolutely primed,” said coach Stewart Perry of the entire team. “I saw some competiveness in some of my swimmers that I haven’t seen all year. I think the excitement of hosting our first conference meet at this wonderful pool really put a surge of adrenaline in them.

“They’ve raced better than I’ve seen them race all year.”

Parrott placed first in five races against swimmersfrom six other conference schools.

APA won its first championship in Raleigh in 2006. No individual swimmers won their races that year, but the depth of the team earned the victory.

But it was relays that helped Parrott rise to the top Tuesday, as the girls earned gold in the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. The boys placed first in the opening relay and closed the 400 free team race with silver.

“It’s a team sport, not an individual sport,” Perry said. “That’s one thing a lot of people think, they’re just racing. You saw today the relay was everything.”

The meet opened with a win for both Parrott teamsin the 200-yard medley relays. Sisters Sarah and Grace Fountain, Katie Frank and Maggie Tyndall were the girls’ relay swimmers. Rudolph Perry, John-Michael Leighton and brothers Wilson and William Archie comprised the boys’ relay.

The elder Fountain sister, Sarah, a sophomore, was named EPIC Swimmer of the Year.

“We wanted to come out with our first relay for the girls and make it big,” said Fountain, 15. “We were really uplifted by that.”

Fountain won the first race after the break, the 100-yard butterfly, and also finished at the top in the 100-yard backstroke. In the fly, she raced against two seniors.

“I’ve dedicated a lot of time in what I do,” said Fountain, who swims year-round. “It’s always nerve-wracking seeing competitors and seeing other people that I have a chance to race, but that’s the fun part about it — racing.”

While Fountain was well-prepared for the meet, snowy weather also affected the Patriots, who were grounded four days last week.

“We have the best facility in the area so that was to our advantage, but the weather was an issue,” Perry said. “When the kids are out of the water that long, it’s kind of scary to think in three days we’re swimming for a championship, but it worked out.”

Many of Perry’s young swimmers also faced seniors from the other schools, including eighth-graders Wilson Archie and Tyndall. They both won gold at the championship.

“I was a little bit scared,” Tyndall said. “The girls had a good meet overall.”

She added, “It was an honor to host (the conference championship). The team’s been here 20 years and we got to host it on the 20th anniversary. That was exciting.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.